Takey Crist, is the founder of the Cyprus Museum. A surgeon by profession, grew up in Jacksonville, NC, in the 1950's. His parents  are both Cypriots. He went to the University of North Carolina where he completed his undergraduate and medical studies. Before he turned 32, Crist was chief resident in obstetrics/gynecology at Chapel Hill. Since then his medical career has moved inexorably upward.

Crist has produced scores of publications in medicine and earned dozens of research grants, teaching posts, and Washington, DC, health - related consultancies. Today he presides over a medical complex in Jacksonville that includes an out - patient surgery center, a birthing center, and the Crist Clinic for Women. The clinic provides family planning, birth control, and obstetrical procedures. "Medicine is what I love to do" he says and he continues to deliver babies.

Crist's passion for Cyprus was born after 1974. "I really became involved in my culture and background after the invasion", Crist explains. "Before the invasion, I had seen my relatives owning orange and lemon orchards and working in banking, and all of a sudden they're sitting in refugee camps, having lost everything. It got to me. So I got involved".

Takey Crist became informed about the antiquities that came out of Cyprus and then acted. "I began reading about the antiquities and the desecration of churches in occupied Cyprus. I talked about it with some friends in Cypriot Organizations, and I decided to buy Cypriot antiquities so that Cyprus's cultural heritage might be preserved. In the summer of 1990 I went to Cyprus with my friend Marios Evriviadis, and we bought old costumes and other folk items. A few weeks later a container appeared at m house. When I realized that I didn't have enough room to house everything, I thought of starting a museum".

That's how Dr Crist came up with the idea of founding the Cyprus Museum. The love for his paternal land and his desire to maintain the heritage of Cyprus alive led and continue leading his actions.

References: the content of this articles are from : the issue of February 25, 1999 of the Newspaper "THE GREEK STAR", the issue of May 14, 1995 of the Newspaper "SYNDAY DAILY NEWS", the Magazine "ODYSSEY", and the issue of December 1990 of the Magazine "NEW YORK Greek - American Monthly Review"